Command and control is a sovereign strategic capability, and as the only original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in South Africa to supply such systems, Global Command and Control Technologies (GC2T) is ready to support the government, especially through public-private partnerships.
Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Product Management at GC2T, Cobus Valentine, explained that GC2T is a relatively new company, having been established in March 2019 after Saab Grintek Defence sold off its command and control business.
“We provide enabled awareness and decision augmentation solutions to our end users to assist them to make better informed decisions faster. Our business model entails that we have a number of strategic partners, all of them original equipment manufacturers whose products we then integrate into turnkey integrated solutions that we provide to our end users,” Valentine told defenceWeb.
“We do business in the military and government environment, but we also do business in the commercial environment. Some of our products that we have developed over the past few years such as our cyber security suite…we are now marketing to commercial entities as well.”
Some of these products and solutions will be on display at the upcoming Public-Private Partnerships for Defence & Security (PPP) Conference 2025, to be held at the CSIR in Pretoria on 7 March. As the Diamond Sponsor, GC2T will showcase solutions with both military and commercial applications. These include its Distributed Ancillary Information Display System and the CypherChat and CypherMail cybersecurity solutions. The company will also highlight tracking capabilities for vehicles, personnel, aircraft, and vessels, along with command and control systems suitable for other government departments like the Border Management Agency and the Police.
“It is important for us as a small company to be seen to support all efforts to ensure that government and the defence industry get to a point where there is mutual cooperation in addressing all the challenges the country is faced with,” Valentine said. He emphasised the company’s willingness to be a “fully-fledged partner to the government” in tackling these challenges.
“According to the Defence Review, command and control is a sovereign strategic capability and being the only OEM in South Africa, and for that matter in Africa, that develops its own indigenous command and control capability, we are of the opinion that…we can play a critical role in such a partnership.”
Valentine said that participation in the conference is important so GC2T can show its support in government and the defence industry cooperating to address challenges. Having sponsored the first PPP conference in 2023, GC2T believes it can continue on the messages and initiatives that were started at the previous edition.
Although GC2T is a relatively small company, “size is not the only deliberating factor in providing capabilities and solutions. We really can make a difference with what we provide,” Valentine said. “I am of the opinion that we punch above our weight.”
Another key message that GC2T will communicate at the conference is that South Africa and Africa do not necessarily have to run to foreign suppliers and OEMs if they require a solution. “There are still some very clever people in South Africa and Africa and in most instances, we have solutions. A decision must, however, be made that made in Africa for Africa is the way we want to go,” Valentine affirmed.
He added that as part of GC2T’s business model, “we transfer full ownership of all solutions to the end users; we do a full transfer of knowledge as well and where there is a requirement we will consider a transfer of technology. So, we are committed to make South Africa and Africa great again and make sure that we are not being held to ransom by other suppliers and countries.”
Valentine told defenceWeb that it is important for South Africa and Africa to have companies like GC2T develop indigenous military technologies because “if you buy such a critical capability from an entity over which you have no direct or indirect control it is very difficult for you as a country to ensure that that capability is available to use at all times.
“Unfortunately, it does happen that countries and companies experience disputes and turmoil in their relationships and then it is normally capabilities such as this that is leveraged to the detriment of the other side. A sovereign and strategic capability ensures that a government and the Defence Force will continue have access to that capability even if there is a break in the relationship with outside entities.”
Valentine added that the local market should and must be the reference market – and for a long period of time it was like that with the South African National Defence Force – but unfortunately over the past few years that has changed and GC2T had to expand its market by going outside South Africa.
“Now some of our solutions are available to our neighbours…Now we are in a position where our reference client (the SANDF) deploys outside our borders on exercises or operations the chances are good that they will come into contact with capabilities that those end users are utilising but was made in South Africa.”
Global reach
Global Command and Control Technologies has large and small contracts keeping it busy across the globe – it is currently doing business in eleven African countries, one in the Middle East and one in the Far-East and is looking at expanding this further.
“Over the last year we were really busy expanding our business but most notably building our brand. We have not been in existence for that long as Global Command and Control Technologies so a big effort has gone into building our brand. We are busy redesigning our website and are using LinkedIn’s capabilities more and more to let our stakeholders know about events, about highlights that we experience and to make use of those forums to launch products,” Valentine said.
“We also launched our CypherChat and CypherMail cyber security solutions during the last year so we hope that it will take off through the course of this year, and grow into a good business for us.”
GC2T is working on new products, including development of its Battle Management System. “We are also doing well with the development our Dismounted Solider Command and Control System as well as our Mission Commander System which is a low-cost version of a fully-fledged Combat Management System. We are specifically developing this for Africa as fully-fledged combat management system is quite expensive and very few countries in Africa can afford to buys such a capability due to its cost,” Valentine told defenceWeb.
These and other solutions will be among those delegates can find out more on during the Public-Private Partnerships for Defence and Security Conference 2025. With a meticulously curated programme, high-calibre speakers, and unparalleled networking opportunities, the conference will feature key decision makers from the BMA, SANDF and other government entities as well as private industry and academia.
Register now to secure your place and be part of the conversation shaping the future of defence partnerships. For more information and to book your seat, click here.
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